Tweak the Program Not the Student
by Shirley M.R. Minster

When a student is having difficulty in school, it is amazing to me how
many times the first position adults take is that the student is not working up to potential rather than considering the possibility that the educational program fits the child poorly. We would rather tweak the student rather than tweak the program. By considering different learning styles, we will understand more about how children learn and how best to work with them.

Let’s consider the visual-spatial learning style. In a nutshell, visual-spatial learning means that a person sees a concept and does it ('see it - do it'). For instance, a young child sees someone roll a ball and then wants to roll it or he sees a bird fly and tries to do that, too. He doesn't necessarily climb a tree to fly, but may scramble up the back of the couch and jump off while flapping his arms or hop around the room flapping his arms in imitation of the bird. An older child may imitate the bird after watching how it goes through the lift off process and then soaring. The boy will then fold a piece of paper into an airplane shape and aim and shoot it high to see it glide.

The visual aspect also includes the mental imaging of an object before acting on it. As shown in the above example, the child first watched and then did the activity. When he is secure in his understanding, he moves into the action. Conversely, if he does not feel comfortable in his understanding with what he has seen, then he will not take action.

If a child has difficulty with the spatial aspect, he usually does not understand the importance of everyone needing his own space. For instance, your daughter may stand really close to your face when she is talking with you. Another typical action is that she may need to touch the walls once she enters a new room to determine the extant of her space. When I evaluate children, I look for clues to discover how children learn about their place in their environment. Sometimes parents think their daughter is behaving poorly, but I reassure them that it’s fine for her to explore the walls because she will settle down when she feels secure and knows her boundaries.

Techniques parents and teachers can employ when working with a visual-spatial learner include giving the child a visually safe environment in which to interact with others. Play with him, letting him take the lead at times. This will encourage him to take responsibility for his own learning and exploration, yet also infer that you are ready to join in with him and follow his lead. Another technique is to have soft toys (foam balls, bats, cubes, etc.) available for rolling, pushing, and building. Express your delight in her learning how to use the toys well and at her intelligence when she discovers new activities she can do.

As your child matures, increase the number of items available to her that are creative. Use materials such as drawing tools (e.g., markers, paints, sketching pencils), carpentry tools and wood, cloth and laces for sewing, and yarn for knitting or weaving. Each year you will see your child’s natural ability and desire to be creative go in one direction. She will lean towards one direction, I assure you.

It is important for parents and teachers to be willing to follow the child’s lead because his natural curiosity will take him many places. Hopefully as he matures, he will learn to do graciously those activities that may not thrill him to do, but are necessary to do (for instance, to stop playing and to brush his teeth). Transitioning can be difficult for a visual-spatial learner because he interprets it as inconvenient and unnecessary to his playing or working.

When trying to discern why a child is failing school or is unhappy with life in general, parents and teachers must look at the environment. By taking the time to focus on the situation at hand rather than blame the child, the parent, teacher, and counselor can turn around a potentially life-damaging situation and make it a point to realize who a child is. Much time and patience is required, but it will be worth it to see the smile return to the child’s face.

About the author
She is founder of Home Education & Family Services, a full-time service organization offering a wide variety of helps and resources for homeschooling families, and Royal Academy, a unique alternative to traditional schools that is based upon the model of parental involvement in the education of their children. Shirley has worked in the field of education and with homeschooling families located throughout the world for over 25 years.. Visit her web site:
http://www.homeeducator.com/HEFS